Paradise holds CEQA scoping meeting for Southeast evacuation route amid split public reaction on property impacts and bike lanes

Town of Paradise public works staff presented revised alternatives, funding and a schedule for the Southeast Paradise Evacuation Route Project at a public CEQA scoping meeting, and then opened the floor to residents for a two-hour listening session. Staff emphasized that no preferred alternative or final decision has been made and that written comments submitted by March 25 will be part of the formal environmental record.

Mark Maddox, the town’s public works director and town engineer, described the project as a phased effort to improve east–west connectivity in south Paradise, eliminate dead-end roadway gaps and provide additional evacuation and emergency access after the 2018 Camp Fire. He told the room the revised corridor cross-section was narrowed from a 42-foot section to a 36-foot section with two 12-foot travel lanes and 6-foot bike lanes/shoulders, and that the earlier proposed shared-use multiuse path on one side was removed following public feedback. Maddox said Phase 1A is an approximately half‑mile connector intended to improve access between South Libby, Sawmill and Edgewood; Phase 2 would extend connections toward Clark Road and could require longer bridge work depending on alignment choices.

Staff outlined funding sources and estimated costs: Phase 1A is funded primarily through HUD Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds and a congressional earmark with…